Habits of the Heart

Habits of the Heart, a book written by Robert N. Bellah, Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton, introduce four traditions that contribute to making up a culture. The first tradition is the biblical tradition followed by the republican tradition , the utilitarian individualism and expressive individualism. All four of these traditions combine to make up the culture in which everyone in the world lives. My ideal culture would consist of 40% of the republican tradition, 30% of utilitarian individualism, 25% of expressive individualism, and 5% of the biblical tradition. I believe that if each of these traditions is given the proportions I listed above, the society will be able to grow and prosper successfully.
I think that political equality is a must and a government is required in order to keep a culture well balanced, which is why I chose a high percentage of the republican tradition to represent my ideal culture. The republican tradition mainly focuses on equality of the people, freedom of the people, and the need for educated individuals to make proper decisions for the whole. Habits of the Heart gives Thomas Jefferson’s view of the government as an example for the republican tradition. Jefferson has a very government-centered culture and he believes educated people should be in charge which I firmly agree with and would want to implement that into my culture. I also believe that political equality is a necessity so that everyone has a voice in what they find fair. The republican tradition does not completely dismiss God, but rather notices that a God exists and lets the people choose the type of religion they want. People can believe what they want to believe in my culture much like those in Jefferson’s ideal culture.
Utilitarianism individualism is a very material based tradition but it also calls for an individual to become dependent upon themselves in order to thrive. I believe that an individual should be able